How did you
first discover/start playing ragtime?
During the early 1970s, I seem to have been exposed to ragtime
from several sources, all at around the same time frame. We
moved to Orange County from Massachusetts in 1970. Every time
we visited Disneyland, I would be fascinated by the piano
players at Coke Corner and Carnation Plaza Gardens. I didn’t
know what ragtime was, but I knew that I loved whatever it
was that they were playing. Each time I went to Farrell’s
Ice Cream Parlor, I would spend a lot of time pumping quarters
into a coin-operated player piano, just to watch the amazingly
intricate movement of the keys and hammers and to get feel
of the rhythms. And then the Hollywood film “The Sting”
came out in 1973, featuring several of Scott Joplin’s
piano rags. Soon after, I purchased a five-record album set
called “The Complete Works of Scott Joplin” plus
several more recordings of ragtime pieces by Joplin, Jelly
Roll Morton and others of the ragtime era. Around this same
time (1974 to 1976) I also bought my first piano scores and
began to learn to play ragtime piano.
What is it about ragtime
music that makes you prefer it (or not) to other music?
Numerous elements factor into what makes ragtime my music
of choice not only when it comes to playing and performing
but also in listening to others who are skilled at performing
it. This is not to say that I don’t enjoy listening
to other types of music, but as long as I’ve been playing
the piano, I’ve enjoyed and gotten more satisfaction
from learning, playing and performing ragtime music on the
piano, as well as in composing new ragtime piano pieces. Compared
with most other forms of music, ragtime is considerably complex
from a technical standpoint. Its combination of multiple polyrhythms
, normally mostly in the treble but often in both hands, is
one major element. The music’s harmonic structure and
often surprising modulations are another factor. Strong melody
lines and melodic content are yet another firm element. The
internal compatibility of each of any ragtime piece’s
multiple themes create an additional layer that, when combined
with a rag’s rhythms, melodies and harmonies, form a
distinctive musical composition that often has a composer’s
signature “fingerprints” on it which can be seen
by looking at the score or in hearing it being performed.
Several more elements make the reportory of published ragtime
music an almost inexhaustible supply of enjoyment that is
vastly preferable to the majority of popular music available
to any musician. One factor is ragtime’s tremendous
degree of musicality. Rags are often ingenious in their overall
form, structure, melodies, rhythms and harmonies. Many are
so sophisticated as to be able to sustain an almost narrative
quality – such rags, in effect, impart a story to the
listener using just music alone. Many of Scott Joplin’s
best compositions have this narrative quality, and it is indeed
powerful – examples of which include “Wall Street
Rag,” “The Cascades,” “The Easy Winners,”
“The Entertainer,” “Pine Apple Rag”
and “Gladiolus Rag.” Other composers of the so-called
“classic rag” (that is to say, modeled upon the
style, form, content and artistic goals of Scott Joplin’s
vision of ragtime music) have also proven skilled in composing
rags in which a definite dramatic arc can be traced from the
opening bars to the rag’s conclusion. However, this
trait isn’t simply restricted to classic rags –
many examples can also be found in several other of ragtime’s
sub-genres (eg. early or folk ragtime, popular ragtime, advanced
ragtime, Stride, and novelty piano).
Some 5,000 or more ragtime pieces were published between 1897
and 1918 (the original ragtime era), and while a sizable number
of these are ragtime songs or vocal numbers, the majority
(perhaps 3,000 in all) are written for piano or other instruments.
Since the early 1940s, new composers have been writing new
original ragtime pieces. That’s a total of more than
nine decades (so far) during which original ragtime music
has been composed, published and performed. So there is no
shortage of great, near-great and very good ragtime for anyone
today, and one of the delights in learning, playing and performing
such pieces is the joy of discovery – finding a piece
that grabs you, committing it to memory and working up a performance
of the piece that is both enjoyable for an audience to hear
and fun for you to perform. Every single ragtime piece carries
its own rewards for those willing to continue to add new pieces
to their repertoire.
Do you have a favorite rag
or ragtime composer?
When I first started out, the only composer who really interested
me was Scott Joplin, and even though many of his pieces were,
at that time, beyond my technical skills, I wanted to be able
to play them. Since then, of course, I’ve been learning,
playing and performing ragtime pieces written by dozens, if
not hundreds, of Joplin’s contemporaries – men
and women who wrote superb piano rags during the “ragtime
years” of 1897 through 1917 (though some are within
a few years later than 1917).
Throughout all of these years, though, Joplin’s
music is what I keep returning to. They’re the most
satisfying to work through and play and among the most inspiring
pieces in all of ragtime. So although I have many other favorite
ragtime composers, none can top Scott Joplin in terms of creativity,
originality, musicality, melodic content, emotional expressiveness
and much more. Although I don’t necessarily have a single
favorite Joplin piece, I have found that even after 30+ years
as a ragtime performer, I never grow tired of performing his
“Fig Leaf,” “Gladiolus” and “Pine
Apple” rags as well as “Euphonic Sounds”
(which, technically, isn’t really a “rag”),
and I love and enjoy playing the Joplin ragtime waltz “Bethena”
and the “rag-tango,” “Solace.”
I’ve long enjoyed learning and performing the ragtime
pieces of a long list of ragtime composers from the vintage
era that includes but is not limited to James Scott, Joseph
F. Lamb, George Botsford, Charles L. Johnson, May Aufderheide,
J. Russel Robinson, Artie Matthews, Paul Pratt, and Charley
Straight. Each year, I try to add at least a handful of new
pieces to my repertoire, which now includes more than 270
piano pieces, most of which are ragtime or ragtime-related
pieces. Although my focus has almost always been upon the
vintage ragtime composers, I’ve learned and performed
pieces by more recent ragtime composers like Glenn Jenks,
Frank French, Tom Brier and others. In addition, I’ve
composed more than 60 piano rags, roughly one-fourth of which
were written in collaborations with Tom Brier and others.
I don’t tend to perform these pieces as often as the
vintage pieces, but only because of the limited time available
during any given performance. I have enough material right
now to record several CDs or give several two-hour solo shows
and not repeat any material – there is that much ragtime
on hand for any performer who wishes to focus on the ragtime
genre.
Are you familiar
primarily/only with traditional piano ragtime music, or are
you also familiar with/fond of “Novelty” ragtime?
I’m well familiar, of course, with Novelty piano, which
is one of several genres (or, if you prefer, sub-genres) of
ragtime music that was one of several outgrowths of the earliest
examples of ragtime (circa the mid-1890s through 1905), “pop”
or Tin Pan Alley ragtime (1906 through 1913 or so) and the
ragtime of Scott Joplin and his followers (circa 1899 through
1910). Am I “fond” of Novelty ragtime, which is
bettern known as Novelty piano? I certainly am, although the
majority of the greatest Novelties – those composed
by Zez Confrey, Roy Bargy, Billy Mayerl and many others –
are beyond my means from a technical standpoint. That means
that like most fans, I can enjoy Novelty piano only by listening
to recordings or watching either a live pianist or a piano
roll performance. And I certainly can and do enjoy doing so,
because Novelty piano is perhaps the single most difficult,
challenging and intricate of all forms of ragtime music.
Are there distinct differences
between genuine rags from the late 1800s/early 1900s and rags
written later in the century, post-1950?
Well, first off, I cannot accept the premise that rags written
during any of the several ragtime revivals that began to occur
in the early 1940s and beyond are less “genuine”
or authentic than those written during the original era. I’ve
composed more than 70 ragtime piano pieces over the last 24+
years, and one of my goals has always been to try to infuse
these pieces with the same feeling and spirit as any of the
rags that came out in the early 1900s. And I would say that
many of those who have written their own ragtime pieces since
1950 have probably also strived to accomplish this same purpose.
However, there are two distinct schools of thought on this
issue that have arisen more or less since the 1990s. A small
but influential enclave of ragtime composers today consider
their works to be, by design, unlike any other ragtime written
before or since. The name that has attached itself to this
movement is “Terra Verde” or, literally, “green
earth.” The idea is to synthesize several different
styles of music indigenous to North America in the 19th and
20th centuries. Most of the composers of Terra Verde, whether
they label their pieces as such or not, view any other contemporary
ragtime that doesn’t try to break new ground as superfluous.
Also, they have attached the name “nostalgia ragtime”
to said compositions.
All in all, though, I have to say that although I’m
not a Terra Verde composer, it is probably nearly impossible
for my compositions to not contain distinct differences from
the ragtime of 100 or more years ago, because my consciousness
has been informed by many musical styles that did not exist
at that time. Such styles would include show tunes, jazz and
rock-and-roll. Try as I might, there is no way I could avoid
the impact of these influences. Trying to do so would not
only be futile; it would be pointless. The very factors that
influence a person’s creativity are those born of their
individuality. And though I can only speak for myself, I would
have to say that probably all, or nearly all, of those who
have written their own ragtime pieces since 1950 have written
pieces that, by accident if not by design, are distinctly
different from what was created, composed, published and performed
a century or more ago.
What do you
know about the revival of ragtime?
Since the early 1940s, there have actually been several ragtime
revivals, each coming on the heels of the one preceding it.
The earliest revival was in 1941, when a San Francisco-based
small jazz combo began performing and recording a few vintage
rags. That group’s pianist, Wally Rose, had always loved
ragtime, and he wanted to be sure this small band performed
at least a few rags. That interest helped spark the interest
of others around the U.S. Additional revivals unfolded in
the 1950s and 1960s. By the early 1970s, ragtime music in
general and the music (and life) of Scott Joplin in particular
had become a focal point of a small number of musicologists,
classical pianists and members of colleges and universities
across the nation. Just a few examples of ragtime phenomenon
from this period: The formation of the Maple Leaf Club, a
ragtime society in Los Angeles (1967); the assembly and publication
of “The Collected Works of Scott Joplin” by the
New York Public Library (1971); and the inclusion of several
Scott Joplin pieces, including the then-rare “Solace
– A Mexican Serenade” (1973).
The latter two – the publication of Joplin’s works
and the use of a handful of his compositions in a major Hollywood
film – helped trigger an avalanche of interest and activity
that went beyond the small circle of those who had always
loved ragtime music. More and more musicians began to appear
upon the scene, performing and recording an ever-growing number
of ragtime pieces from the past as well as composing, publishing,
performing and recording original ragtime pieces of their
own. Technological advances including CD technology, the Disklavier
piano (like a digital/electronic player piano) and all manner
of electronic communication have combined to make ragtime
music readily available to anyone, practically anywhere in
the world.
Since the ragtime era is over, how do keep such an old genre
lively and new?
Like all great music, ragtime music from the original era
can often seem fresh and new precisely because it hasn’t
been performed or heard for possibly many decades. One would
never refer to a piece of classical music from any era as
“old” or as representing “an old genre.”
As such, ragtime music (as well as any number of great pieces
of other genres of popular music such as jazz, blues, folk
or even rock music) doesn’t need to be “kept new.”
All any ragtime musician needs to do is to make a commitment
to playing/performing ragtime music for audiences and, if
one prefers, making recordings of performances, so that the
music is readily available for the public. As in decades past,
audiences of today have demonstrated that they enjoy hearing
musicians perform ragtime music, be it vintage rags of 100+
years ago or pieces composed more recently. The fascination
with, enjoyment of and dedication to ragtime is already there.
You have merely to try to perfect your skill as a ragtime
pianist (or instrumentalist or singer), then place your music
before the public. Another factor of ragtime music that may
not garner the attention it deserves is the potential for
ragtime music as a vehicle for serious musical expression.
Like all forms of music, ragtime can express a considerably
wide range of emotions. Joplin, again, is perhaps the best
example of this, although a wide range of moods and emotions
can be found in much ragtime aside from his. in fact, one
of the challenges for any contemporary ragtime composer when
writing a new piece is to tap into a particular emotional
vein and to see where those feelings lead you. Many people
seemingly think that ragtime is all, 100% “happy”
music, which is about the most superficial description you
could give. In fact, rags can express elation and joy, of
course – but also emotions like introspection, passion,
tenderness, and more. Some of the greatest ragtime ever written
contains considerably “dark” feelings.
What differences do you notice/feel
between performing ragtime music and simply listening to it?
As with any art form or creative endeavor, there is certainly
a distinct difference between observing, studying and enjoying
the output of someone else’s creativity and in trying
your hand at it yourself. My methods of selecting, learning,
and working up a rag for performance involve a number of factors
that are absent when simply listening to a piece being performed
(or hearing it on a recording). When listening, your critical
faculties are often triggered. Your mind perceives, and often
flags, the elements that make the piece, or its performance,
unusual, different or perhaps even unique. You listen for
different textures, for the use of various tempi to heighten
certain aspects of the piece, for dynamics and other indications
of either the score itself or the musician/performer. And
all the while, you are probably also absent-mindedly tapping
your foot and allowing the music to wash over you as you would
do with the product of someone else’s creativity, be
it a painting, fictional work, poetry reading or classical
composition.
Performing a rag – and preparing a piece for performance
– engages many areas of the brain and body that aren’t
involved in being part of an audience. Instead of being on
one side of the curtain – the audience side –
you’re now on the opposite side. You’re on the
stage, and as such it’s up to you to generate the audience’s
interest in and excitement over whatever pieces you’ve
chosen to present. First off is the selection of each individual
piece. There are obviously numerous factors that enter into
this process, but you generally want to create a program that
is entertaining, varied/diverse, interesting from an intellectual
standpoint and moving from an emotional standpoint. When I’m
crafting such a program, I try to avoid playing two or three
consecutive pieces that are too similar – perhaps they’re
in the same key, or utilize similar harmonies or other thematic
materials – so that the succession of pieces avoids
monotony for the listener. Performing ragtime piano also doesn’t
simply involve playing the piano. Your audience wants to learn,
and a good way to assist this is to give a brief introduction
to each piece in which you explain what it is about the piece
that made you select it to perform. The audience now knows
why you chose the piece, and you’ve given them something
to pay attention to and to listen for once you begin to play
the selection. The audience will feed off of your energy,
and as you begin to establish a connection with your listeners,
you will in turn feed off of their energies too. This symbiosis
is, of course, present in the live performance of most music,
and in this respect, ragtime is no different. Great music
survives through live performance as well as in recordings.
Ragtime today enjoys more popularity than it did in its own
time – thanks to technology which has allowed ragtime
to be heard all over the world. Despite this fact, though,
there will never be enough ragtime musicians to be able to
dig up and perform every piece of ragtime ever written, whether
from the late 19th and early 20th centuries or from the most
recent past. And that almost inexhaustible supply of good
and even great pieces of ragtime is what fuels the interests,
curiosities and passions of today’s performers of ragtime
music.
